Rootless Seoul: Why We Need Memories Over Landmarks
서울은 새로운 랜드마크가 필요 없습니다. 우리에게 필요한 건 땅의 기억, 바로 ‘터무늬’입니다.
Seoul doesn’t need new landmarks. We need ‘Teomunui’: the true patterns of the land. It’s about finding the ‘Top Feels’, not just ‘Top Places’.
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Americana Revisited: Tracing Korea’s Burger Memories from Ichon to Dogok
In Dogok-dong, tucked behind a modest sign that simply reads “HAMBURGERS,” sits OneStar, a burger shop where the lighting, menu, and vinyl booths feel lifted from an earlier time. But this isn’t an accident. Everything here is intentional. Carefully curated. Thoughtfully branded. And, crucially, the food lives up to the mood. That, more than anything,…
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Chojeong Sparkling Water: Korea’s Badoit?
It’s not every day you stumble across a naturally carbonated spring. In France, there’s Badoit. In Italy, San Pellegrino. These are more than just mineral waters — they’re bottled expressions of terroir, tradition, and time. And in Korea, there’s Chojeong. Tucked away in the countryside of Cheongju, Chojeong is home to a spring that has…
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Inside a Gisa Sikdang: A Driver’s Diner in Seoul
At 7:30 a.m., most restaurants in the neighborhood were still closed. The only one open was a modest, old-school diner with a teal awning and an unmistakable name printed in red and blue: Bogwang Gisa Sikdang. A row of yellow plastic jugs and orange cones lined the front — a simple but effective way to…
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On Hahoe Village and the Depth of Stillness
하회 마을과 고즈넉함에 대하여 There’s a word in Korean—고즈넉함 (goznokahm)—that doesn’t quite translate into English. It’s a kind of peaceful stillness, one that feels full rather than empty. Quiet, but rich with meaning. It’s the kind of silence where time slows. A hanok’s wooden floors creaking in the afternoon sun. The distant sound of wind…
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The Most Korean Streetscape
When I think about the most authentic Korean streetscape, it’s not the sleek landmarks designed by world-renowned architects, nor the hanoks, which, while cherished, are few in number. It’s the villas—the low-rise, multi-family buildings that have shaped Seoul’s residential fabric since the 1970s. Unlike high-rise apartment complexes, which feel closed off from the streets, villas…
